At the Vet hospital, nineteen days before the hanging, Fatima's class is getting popular. At first there were only two people, but pretty soon, ten chairs are full, and the number keeps going up.
After
her class, Fatima rushes over to the school to walk Mik home. Mik's nervous they
might run in to Shanelle—even though she was suspended from school for
threatening Mik, she still might hang around.
Mik
tells Fatima she's lucky she doesn't have to go to school, but Fatima wants to
learn more, and she's even been dumpster diving for books over by the college.
It's the
same story with apples. They see some as they walk, and Mik thinks they are not
that great. To Fatima, though, apples are like a dream. They don't get apples
where she's from, and in New York they have a bunch of different kinds.
They
stop to eat a snack and Fatima asks Mik to teach her sign language. Mik's not
so sure at first, but Fatima explains that she wants to teach the kids in her
country.
The
girls chat about the color of the plants, the Statue of Liberty (which neither
of them have ever been to), and a bunch of little things before arriving to the
topic of the surgery.
Mik's
not sure she wants it and Fatima tells her that she has to decide for herself.
She
tells Mik the story about how her mom died: They were walking home with her
younger sister when they heard some men coming their way; figuring they wouldn't
make it back to the camp, their mom told them to run.
The only
problem was that their mom ran the other way so the men would chase her
instead. That's the last time she saw her.
Mik
thinks the story is really sad, but Fatima tells her it's okay—her mom is in
the sky now, watching down on her. Then she signs to the sky: Hello, Good-bye, I love you.